BABBLING BROOK: Will you e-file your taxes this year?

While the holiday glow might still be hanging around — today is, after all, Orthodox Christmas — I have to interject a subject that might not bring you good cheer: taxes.

Yes, sure, tax filing day — Monday, April 15 this year — is still more than three months away. But you know how months can seem to fly by? You don't want to find yourself on the evening of April 14 with blue ink stains on your hands while you dig through a box of receipts.

So get yourself ready because tax preparation offices are open or are opening soon and the IRS will start to process electronically filed returns on Jan. 22.

Of course many of us cannot file until we receive our W-2 forms from our employers later this month — or early February if they are mailed — but that does not mean you can't start thinking about the process.

And, let's face it, once the filing of taxes is complete, there is a burden lifted from our shoulders. Some people will want to wait until the last moment because they owe money, but many feel good to get the task out of the way early.

E-file

The IRS would really like for you to consider filing your tax returns electronically.

Bill Brunson with the IRS has told me that there are advantages to filing electronically.

"It is extremely accurate," he said. "If you file your tax return online, you will be filing an error-free return."

The IRS reports that last year nearly 100 million taxpayers opted for what the organization calls the "safest, fastest and easiest way to submit their individual tax returns.

Advertisement

"

Since 1990, taxpayers have e-filed nearly 1 billion Form 1040 series tax returns. E-file is now the norm, the government reports, as more people file electronically than do with paper returns.

You might even be able to file without paying for software.

The IRS reports that if your income is $57,000 or less, you can use Free File brand-name software. It's available only through the website IRS.gov, where a number of tax software companies make their products available for free. Some also support state tax returns for free.

Even if you don't meet the free income guidelines, you can still use online Fillable Forms, which are an electronic version of the IRS paper forms.

"This option is best for people who are comfortable preparing their tax returns but want the advantages of fast, secure and free e-filing," the IRS reports.

Of course you can also buy software to use and file electronically or go to a professional tax preparer.

Billionaires, entertainers and athletes alike announced their intentions to pursue the Los Angeles Clippers with varying degrees of seriousness Wednesday, proving the longtime losers will be quite a prize if the NBA is able to wrest control of the team away from Donald Sterling after his lifetime ban for racist remarks. Full Story

Louie, who (like Louis) is a New York comic and a divorced father of two daughters, knows struggle and angst and cloudy wonderment. He views life through eyes with a stricken look, dwelling in a state of comfortable dread. Full Story